Kucinich: 'We're getting ready for war against Iran'

NDAA
Authorizes War Against Iran

By Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Congressman
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is urging Members to reject
H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act,
FY 2013 because it prepares the way for a disastrous
war with Iran. Even if the House accepts a proposed
amendment by John Conyers (D-MI) to state that the
authorization is not a specific declaration of war,
the bill still calls for aggressive redeployment of
our armed services to begin "credible, visible
preparations for a military option."

May 18, 2012 "Huffington
Post" -- May
17, 2012 -- This week, Congress is considering two pieces of
legislation relating to Iran. The first undermines a diplomatic
solution with Iran and lowers the bar for war. The second
authorizes a war of choice against Iran and begins military
preparations for it.

H.Res.568: Eliminating the Most Viable Alternative to War

The House
is expected to vote on H.Res. 568. Read the resolution. Section
(6) rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts
to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran. Section (7) urges the
President to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with
nuclear-weapons capability and opposition to any policy that
would rely on containment as an option in response to Iranian
enrichment.

This
language represents a significant shift in U.S. policy and would
guarantee that talks with Iran, currently scheduled for May 23,
would fail. Current U.S. policy is that Iran cannot acquire
nuclear weapons. Instead, H. Res. 568 draws the
"redline" for military action at Iran achieving a nuclear
weapons "capability," a nebulous and undefined term that could
include a civilian nuclear program. Indeed, it is
likely that a negotiated deal to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran
and to prevent war would provide for Iranian enrichment for
peaceful purposes under the framework of the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons Treaty with strict safeguards and
inspections. This language makes such a negotiated solution
impossible.

At the
same time, the language lowers the threshold for attacking Iran.
Countries with nuclear weapons "capability" could include many
other countries like Japan or Brazil. It is an unrealistic
threshold.

The Former
Chief of Staff of Secretary of State Colin Powell has stated
that this resolution "reads like the same sheet of music that
got us into the Iraq war."

H.R. 4310: Authorizing War Against Iran and Preparing the
Military for it

While H.
Res. 568 undermines our diplomatic efforts and lowers the bar
for war, H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2013 begins military preparations for war. Section
1221 makes military action against Iran a U.S. policy. Section
1222 directs our armed forces to prepare for war.

SEC. 1221.
DECLARATION OF POLICY.

(a)
Findings- Congress makes the following findings:

(2) At the
same time, Iran may soon attain a nuclear weapons capability, a
development that would threaten United States interests,
destabilize the region, encourage regional nuclear
proliferation, further empower and embolden Iran, the world's
leading state sponsor of terrorism, and provide it the tools to
threaten its neighbors, including Israel.

The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as U.S. and
Israeli intelligence,
have all agreed that Iran does not currently have a nuclear
bomb, is not building a nuclear weapon and does not have plans
to do so. Both U.S. and Israeli officials also agree that a
strike on Iran would only delay their nuclear program and
actually encourage them to pursue a nuclear weapon.

Sustained,
diplomatic engagement with Iran is the only way to ensure
transparency and prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. Rejecting or
thwarting any inspections-based deal we are currently seeking
with Iran, even when analysts are expressing guarded optimism
that a near term deal is achievable, makes pre-emptive military
action against Iran more likely.

(7) In
order to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the
United States, in cooperation with its allies, must utilize all
elements of national power including diplomacy, robust economic
sanctions, and credible, visible preparations for a military
option.

Pursuing
these non-diplomatic options, contrary to popular myth, does not
help negotiations. U.S. policy toward Iran for the last three
decades has primarily taken the form of economic sanctions,
threats and isolation. None of these things has created
meaningful change in the behavior of the Iranian government or
achieved the transparency we seek. In fact, history has
demonstrated that sanctions often preclude war; they do not
prevent it. Sanctions hurt the same ordinary Iranians that we
claim to support, and undermine their efforts to encourage
democratic change in their country. Threatening military action
against Iran can only undermine sensitive and critical
diplomatic negotiations that could be our last chance to achieve
the transparency and cooperation we seek from the Iranian
government.

(8)
Nevertheless, to date, diplomatic overtures, sanctions, and
other non-kinetic actions toward Iran have not caused the
Government of Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

The United
States, IAEA and Israel have all publically recognized that Iran
does not have a nuclear weapons program. In a January 2012
interview on CBS' Face the Nation, Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta stated unequivocally that Iran is
not trying to build a nuclear weapon. This clause further
ignores that the U.S. and Iran have barely engaged in direct
negotiations. Prior to last month's negotiations, the U.S. and
Iran had only engaged in 45 minutes of direct talks since 2009.

(b)
Declaration of Policy- It shall be the policy of the United
States to take all necessary measures, including military action
if required, to prevent Iran from threatening the United States,
its allies, or Iran's neighbors with a nuclear weapon.

This is an authorization for the use of military force against
Iran. It ignores the warnings of both
current and former U.S. top military brass who have spoken in
opposition to the use of military force against Iran, including
former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and current Secretary
of Defense
Leon Panetta. A
February 2012 poll demonstrated that less than 20% of the
Israeli public supports an Israeli strike on Iran if approved by
the United States. Congress must avoid the same mistakes it made
in the Iraq war and reject any language that can be construed as
authorizing war against Iran.

SEC. 1222.
UNITED STATES MILITARY PREPAREDNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

Section 2
(A) pre-positioning sufficient supplies of aircraft,
munitions, fuel, and other materials for both air- and sea-based
missions at key forward locations in the Middle East
and Indian Ocean;

(B)
maintaining sufficient naval assets in the region
necessary to signal United States resolve and to
bolster United States capabilities to launch a sustained
sea and air campaign against a range of Iranian nuclear and
military targets, to protect seaborne shipping, and to
deny Iranian retaliation against United States interests in the
region;

(D)
conducting naval fleet exercises similar to the United States
Fifth Fleet's major exercise in the region in March 2007 to
demonstrate ability to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and to
counter the use of anti-ship missiles and swarming high-speed
boats.

A plain
reading of these provisions in H.R. 4310 taken together with
H.R. 568 makes it clear: Congress is setting the stage for war
with Iran.

Rep. Dennis
Kucinich --- U.S. Representative from Ohio's 10th District